Today, woke up at around 9am and did the usual stuff, then finished up the last AM paper. Lunch to day was mom's weirdly invented salad of mango cheese and egg. If not for the extra toppings, I think I would have taken an abnormally long time to eat it up. Then, I edited the Gypsy Rondo score that Jie Ying sent. She's a perfect perfectionist. The score was so straight. She must have used a vernier calipers or something. Managed to make it about 1.5-2 times larger. I printed the stuff out and 13 of 21 tries were unsuccessful. The printer printed out an error message for me. I felt so guilty of wasting paper. Since I used up both sides (try my luck) for those failed missions, I couldn't put it back in the paper tray for re printing. In the end, stuffed it in the study room cupboard and just hoped I'd remember (highly unlikely) to use it when I need it.
Then, went swimming again, same routine. Nose improved even more and now I have been tissue-free for about 24 hours. Mom has been telling me to go to the gym or park to jog with her but I don't really like going to the gym (gym - >18yo need parental accompaniment) because it's just like violin practice, except worse. Perspire so much and stare at the same spot for many, many seconds. Whereas for swimming, you get to at least see some change of scenery (like a new square tile per second, though I think by now, I know almost every tile personally). As for the park, I always happen to be lagging behind. This was especially scary when I jogged more often in the morning (afternoon session school) when I was much younger. Mom would be all the way in front and I'd start panicking when I lost sight of her, so didn't dare to stop running no matter how tired I was. I'd only feel more relaxed on weekends when dad and Jean also came along. (Because dad doesn't, or purposely doesn't have so much speed and stamina, and Jean will just end up walking behind)
Then, did violin practice. I must have broken a personal record timing today. My fingers didn't feel correct and the sound sounded.. terrible. I spent some time while playing, thinking of whether I could just carry out euthanasia (involuntary (relative decides), of course) on my violin. I'm not sure if my violin was thinking the same either, just the voluntary form. Practically the whole practice was spent fretting over my left wrist, whether it was bent wrongly or not. I realised that sometimes, my wrist does not bend correctly when I'm using my fourth finger or 3.4 double stops (discovered during violin lesson yesterday). The bad thing is that I can only detect wrong movement by feeling. If I want the visual form, I have to bend backwards, behind the violin to look at my wrist. That's tedious. I don't know if I've been trying to change correctly, but now my left thumb is aching.
Mom and dad went to Orchard road again. This time, at night. They wanted to look at the Christmas lighting blah blah blah, shop and walk. They bought some stuff but forgot to buy a present for Jensen's birthday this Saturday. Arhh. Poor guy. I think my grandparents are going to drag Jensen, Jerome, Jean and I there when the CCIS (a christian event at Orchard road. Some groups perform outside Pragon, Ngee Ann City etc as an evangelistic activity. Has been around for quite a few years already) thing is up again (around +/- 21 Dec).
It's late. Going to sleep. Tutti tomorrow, then have to go meet another jie ying (from church. I already know 3 JYs) and xwls at Christofori tmr to find out more about the mysterious christmas trio.
Thursday, November 27, 2008
Wednesday, November 26, 2008
I've been suffering from something lately. I went down to swim on Friday afternoon, 20 laps, 20 mins. After I got back upstairs to my house, I started sneezing and my nose kept running (no, it didn't run away.. but I don't know how else to explain this phenomenon). My nose was in this state for the following days. Yesterday (Tuesday), I thought of something. I decided to go for a swim again, same routine, but to reverse the effect. See, this is what a flu can do to a poor human bean's brain. Sadly, it didn't work. But the human bean never gives up. I started digging up flu medicine from the kitchen drawer and placed it on the table, ready to eat it right after dinner. But I think my germ got scared and decided to behave itself for the whole night. But of course, as I'm typing this, my germ seems to have grown some sense overnight so there's a tissue almost permenantly attached to my nose.
The interesting is that these days, I'm finding it very hard to keep violin practice to 1 hour (my constant quota for the past 7 years, but improved with less cheating eg. complaining I need a break (10 mins) every half an hour).
1. 15 mins -- Scales, arpeggios etc and finger/bowing exercises
2. 10 mins -- 2 Studies (1 prepared, 1 practice for quick study)
3. 10 mins -- School pieces
4. 10 mins -- Gypsy Rondo
5. 10 mins -- Bach Serabande
6. 40-45 mins -- 3 "bigger" works
Total = About 1h 40mins
Since now's still the holidays and I have nothing much better to do, such extravagent spending of time every day is still acceptable. But how am I going to keep everything to 1 hour next year? 1 hour would just be playing everything I need to practice once through.. which isn't really called practice then. One solution: alternate between 1,2,3,4,5, 6(1) and 1, 2, 6(2). Sigh..
Yesterday, there was rehearsal in church at night. First rehearsal is always the most slack of all. Not everyone knows what to do or what programme is after the other (though I got a shock when I glanced at the programme sheet. "violin duet -- lynn & jean".. don't even know what we're supposed to be playing). Didn't need to play chimes because only me, Rebecca, Jasmine, Samuel and Rui Quan turned up, unless each of us ran around the table and juggled more than 6 chimes each. So we just had to help choir and chat among ourselves. It was quite interesting. Recounting our holidays (for those who already went) and laughing about funny incidents.
Jean has been out early in the morning and back at around 8pm since we came back from our holiday. N.E.mation takes up so much time. They all flock to NTU where they trap themselves in a room with different "tents" assigned to their group. Inside their tents, they each sit around their tablet/desktop pc and do sketches of their animation/chat online/play/whatever. They're each given their own tablet or desktop thing with the stuff for drawing on the screen, and they're the administrator of the com, so they can download whatever they want. Jean says she drew over 1000 things already (I don't know what - it's a top secret). Apart from the high tech gadgets and meals, I think it's comparable to an air conditioned jail. Anyway, go vote http://www.nemation.sg/perspectives.aspx
byebyebye have violin lesson later
The interesting is that these days, I'm finding it very hard to keep violin practice to 1 hour (my constant quota for the past 7 years, but improved with less cheating eg. complaining I need a break (10 mins) every half an hour).
1. 15 mins -- Scales, arpeggios etc and finger/bowing exercises
2. 10 mins -- 2 Studies (1 prepared, 1 practice for quick study)
3. 10 mins -- School pieces
4. 10 mins -- Gypsy Rondo
5. 10 mins -- Bach Serabande
6. 40-45 mins -- 3 "bigger" works
Total = About 1h 40mins
Since now's still the holidays and I have nothing much better to do, such extravagent spending of time every day is still acceptable. But how am I going to keep everything to 1 hour next year? 1 hour would just be playing everything I need to practice once through.. which isn't really called practice then. One solution: alternate between 1,2,3,4,5, 6(1) and 1, 2, 6(2). Sigh..
Yesterday, there was rehearsal in church at night. First rehearsal is always the most slack of all. Not everyone knows what to do or what programme is after the other (though I got a shock when I glanced at the programme sheet. "violin duet -- lynn & jean".. don't even know what we're supposed to be playing). Didn't need to play chimes because only me, Rebecca, Jasmine, Samuel and Rui Quan turned up, unless each of us ran around the table and juggled more than 6 chimes each. So we just had to help choir and chat among ourselves. It was quite interesting. Recounting our holidays (for those who already went) and laughing about funny incidents.
Jean has been out early in the morning and back at around 8pm since we came back from our holiday. N.E.mation takes up so much time. They all flock to NTU where they trap themselves in a room with different "tents" assigned to their group. Inside their tents, they each sit around their tablet/desktop pc and do sketches of their animation/chat online/play/whatever. They're each given their own tablet or desktop thing with the stuff for drawing on the screen, and they're the administrator of the com, so they can download whatever they want. Jean says she drew over 1000 things already (I don't know what - it's a top secret). Apart from the high tech gadgets and meals, I think it's comparable to an air conditioned jail. Anyway, go vote http://www.nemation.sg/perspectives.aspx
byebyebye have violin lesson later
Saturday, November 22, 2008
blah x
There was tutti yesterday. I expected it to be uninteresting and as per normal. But Jie Ying never fails to stun me. I was listening to Mr Lee talking about something when suddenly, *crash**bang* (repeat a few more times with decrescendo). Then silence. I turned behind to where the sound was came from and saw Jie Ying's violin on the floor. Poor violin.. jy must have abused it too much so it decided to commit suicide.. Other than that, tutti was quite normal. Oh, except we listened to A-Roving and the Divertimento recordings. I'm still a bit addicted to O Waly Waly and A-Roving. John Rutter is a genius.
Doing violin practice after tutti or sectionals is really very productive. Because I'm slightly tired, I tend to play and practice better. I don't know why. The cadenza (by Franky I think) for the Mozart Violin Concerto is nice. But I think I'll need 2 weeks before I can play it smoothly. Jy and I tried out the thing today, but couldn't get past a few bars so ended up self-practicing. If I were to write the cadenza, I would put "pianist laughing solo, violin rest". Through playing this concerto, I think I've understood Classical concertos much better. Didn't know it in time for EOY but it's ok, there's still O levels. I also realised that Mozart has very unique musical characteristics that can be found in most of his pieces, like his rhythms. Ok enough about music for now.
My parents went out yesterday and since they were roaming around in orchard, I passed them a list of shoopping tasks to complete. It was 15% completed. They bought back a flat and short bar of chocolate from Marks & Spencers which I think wasn't even a bar by the time they reached home. It was more like chocolate syrup or those small little salad dressing packets. I froze it overnight in the freezer. When I went to check it this morning, I found it on the kitchen table, thawing, or I think melting. I picked it up and it curled over my finger. Looks like it's back to square one on freezing it.
Doing violin practice after tutti or sectionals is really very productive. Because I'm slightly tired, I tend to play and practice better. I don't know why. The cadenza (by Franky I think) for the Mozart Violin Concerto is nice. But I think I'll need 2 weeks before I can play it smoothly. Jy and I tried out the thing today, but couldn't get past a few bars so ended up self-practicing. If I were to write the cadenza, I would put "pianist laughing solo, violin rest". Through playing this concerto, I think I've understood Classical concertos much better. Didn't know it in time for EOY but it's ok, there's still O levels. I also realised that Mozart has very unique musical characteristics that can be found in most of his pieces, like his rhythms. Ok enough about music for now.
My parents went out yesterday and since they were roaming around in orchard, I passed them a list of shoopping tasks to complete. It was 15% completed. They bought back a flat and short bar of chocolate from Marks & Spencers which I think wasn't even a bar by the time they reached home. It was more like chocolate syrup or those small little salad dressing packets. I froze it overnight in the freezer. When I went to check it this morning, I found it on the kitchen table, thawing, or I think melting. I picked it up and it curled over my finger. Looks like it's back to square one on freezing it.
Friday, November 14, 2008
Tokyo and Hakone, Japan 2008
A brief comparison...
Jean fascinated by the sushis
A road for humans
A group of men/boys who performed some acrobatics for their photo-taking at the palace
The train and its commuters
Tokyo 2002 / Tokyo 2008
The rest are 2008...
Jean fascinated by the sushis
The sushis are not fascinated by Jean
A road for humans
At a road shoulder
Also at a road shoulder. No pausing while walking or you might get walked over
At the emperor's palace. Poor emperor... Stuck inside his whole life..
A group of men/boys who performed some acrobatics for their photo-taking at the palace
The train and its commuters
Jean stunned as she walks out of a handicap toilet in the train station and gets her picture taken (no, not the security camera)
The pink sign translated: "This carriage is for women only"... during peak hours
A successful jump shot initiated by Jean (the art of pushing the credit)
The crowd at Harajuku. Ren shan ren hai, shui xie bu tong...
The crowd at Harajuku. Ren shan ren hai, shui xie bu tong...
The Tokyo Tower at night. Dad spent some on a time on a roof top taking this shot and Jean and I were freezing. By the time he was done, mom disappeared - we found her later inside the building
Up in the clouds
Never judge an egg by it's shell
Camouflaging against the bush
Translated: Hakone pirate ship
Boarding the pirate ship
Our make-shift dinner in Hakone when all the shops outside were closed
Inside our room in Hakone. Lake Ashi in the background
Mount Fuji
Mount Fuji again...
A view of sulfur mining from the cable car. A great time to note that sulfur is yellow-green in colour
A night view of our final hotel in Tokyo
The fake volcano in DisneySEA with a roller coaster inside
DisneySEA.. The buildings in the background have flat surfaces. The old fashioned protruding-like structures are painted on
DisneySEA.. A christmas tree and the Tower of Terror (the plunge all the way down one...)
A picture taken during the Tower of Terror ride. Actually, taken from the TV screen of the thing for people to go purchase their photos (a great way to save money..). Spot me (no prizes for guessing)
Indiana Jones structure. The ride inside is not that shocking for old folks, but maybe of some advantage to them because they try to scare the visitors with very loud sounds while riding through the room
The highly disputed plant on the road side in DisneySEA because of it's authenticity. It is smooth and has a rubber like texture, quite hard, but it's surrounding plants are real (I think..). It's still not certain whether this is a plant or just a heap of plastic.
After the 360 degree roller coaster ride
On the chidrens' ride. No, I don't have a laughing disorder..
Inside the mermaid thing (I forgot what it was called)..
For more perspectives and photos, go to http://jean-the-gene.blogspot.com/ / Links --> Jean
And that sums up Tokyo 2008.
Tokyo - Day 7-8 + Singapore
Today, we went to Ueno. There was a park and I saw quite a number of school boys painting the scenery.We walked around the park and this street with a lot of small shops. There were studens shopping around and I don't know if they were supposed to be in school. I think the school hours are a bit odd. The things there were quite interesting, ranging from high tech robots/toys to food. There was this spider car thing which is a remote controlled car that can travel vertically on walls. It uses air suction I think. Japanese toys are really rather interesting.
We walked, ate lunch and shopped until about 1pm before taking a train back to our hotel. We caught the ariport limousine (a bus) and reached Narita airport. We left Tokyo at 5.40pm Tokyo time and reached Singapore at around 12.15am. I spent most of the ride watching movies and sleeping at the later part. But the sleeping was not very successful because I was getting tired from sitting for so long.
We reached home at about 1am and unpacked blah blah blah. I was in a groggy state and my eyes just wanted to close on me. I slept at about 3am+. 3/4 of my family woke up around 11.30am while Jean slept until 12+.
Overall, it was a pretty fun trip. And that ends all the Tokyo reports for now. Warning: Not all events had been typed out so as to avoid being naggy.
The long chain of November birthdays has just started today. Thankfully, we'll be settling it with two cakes over a period of 3 weeks. The first will be tomorrow at my grandparents' house. That one kills (celebrates) 3 birds (humans) with 1 stone (cake).
We walked, ate lunch and shopped until about 1pm before taking a train back to our hotel. We caught the ariport limousine (a bus) and reached Narita airport. We left Tokyo at 5.40pm Tokyo time and reached Singapore at around 12.15am. I spent most of the ride watching movies and sleeping at the later part. But the sleeping was not very successful because I was getting tired from sitting for so long.
We reached home at about 1am and unpacked blah blah blah. I was in a groggy state and my eyes just wanted to close on me. I slept at about 3am+. 3/4 of my family woke up around 11.30am while Jean slept until 12+.
Overall, it was a pretty fun trip. And that ends all the Tokyo reports for now. Warning: Not all events had been typed out so as to avoid being naggy.
The long chain of November birthdays has just started today. Thankfully, we'll be settling it with two cakes over a period of 3 weeks. The first will be tomorrow at my grandparents' house. That one kills (celebrates) 3 birds (humans) with 1 stone (cake).
Tokyo - Day 6
We woke up at around 7.30am Tokyo time and went out for breakfast. Then we took a train to Tokyo Disney Resort. We got slightly lost to transfer trains but after a while, we managed to navigate our way there.
There are 2 parks in Tokyo Disney Resort - Disneyland (for kids) and DisneySEA (for old people). We went to the one for the ageing/already aged people. I was eligible for all the rides and that was quite an achievement. The last time my family went to the Disney Resort in Orlando, US. That one had 5 parks and we used 2 days to play in 2 parks and still couldn't finish everything. That was when I wasn't aged yet, around 6-7 years old. But I couldn't make the height limit for most of the rides, so we had to go for the less thrilling ones. The first roller coaster ride I sat on was called Space Mountain. It was pitch dark all the way and there were plenty of ups and downs. I went on it with dad because Jean was not tall enough for it, so mom went with her on some tea cup ride. Now, back to Tokyo.
The first ride we went on was called Journey to the Centre of the Earth (edit), an indoor roller coaster. Whenever it suddenly plunged down, my stomach would feel funny. It was inside a fake volcano and was quite fun.
We went on another one, called Tower of Terror. We didn't know what to expect a first. I thought we would just ride in something and get scared nearly to death. But when we entered, hey strapped us up very securely and we knew that something was amiss. We went up, up, up... hen plunged all the way down. Then repeated the whole process a few times. I think everyone around us looked quite constipated while plunging down.
Jean forced me to go for a 360 degree turn ride with her. My parents told us to go first and then tell them if it was safe for them. I think we're their professional roller coaster guinea pigs. I protested all the way until we got into the car. Jean was practically laughing all the way. It was our first time going for such a ride. So we got on, I kept protesting bu it was too late, had to surrender. In the end, I survived the ride. It wasn't that bad and I barely felt myself going upside down. We reported our good news back to our base camp and dad decided to try out the ride. Jean and I went with him because we liked it so much. Mom was too scared and decided to stay out.
We completed all the main attractions by the afternoon and just walked around the place. We finally left DisneySEA at around 4.45pm. By then, the sky looked like Singapore's 7pm sky. Oh ya, we went for some boring rides after completing the main ones, We went to some mermaid roller coaster for kids and mom was screaming along with the other little children. The res of us were laughing throughout. Then a cup cake holder thing that kept spinning around, and we went up and down in some squid thing.
The Disney resort is a nice place and he helpers are quite friendly too. I wonder how they manage to remain extremely cheerful for so long. The attractions are nice but not very thrilling, because I think it's not meant to be an amusement park. I was quite fascinated with how they manage the sound systems inside. I think they just loop the music in the various scones but it is quite good. One day, I want to go to the Orlando Disney Resort again and try out the rides I wasn't tall enough for.
We took a train back and ate dinner around our area. jean got a headache and my dad says it is probably because of all the roller coasters, especially the 360 degree one. But Jean just keeps insisting it isn't. Ah well, if it wasn't for her, I wouldn't have had such a great experience on that thing.
There are 2 parks in Tokyo Disney Resort - Disneyland (for kids) and DisneySEA (for old people). We went to the one for the ageing/already aged people. I was eligible for all the rides and that was quite an achievement. The last time my family went to the Disney Resort in Orlando, US. That one had 5 parks and we used 2 days to play in 2 parks and still couldn't finish everything. That was when I wasn't aged yet, around 6-7 years old. But I couldn't make the height limit for most of the rides, so we had to go for the less thrilling ones. The first roller coaster ride I sat on was called Space Mountain. It was pitch dark all the way and there were plenty of ups and downs. I went on it with dad because Jean was not tall enough for it, so mom went with her on some tea cup ride. Now, back to Tokyo.
The first ride we went on was called Journey to the Centre of the Earth (edit), an indoor roller coaster. Whenever it suddenly plunged down, my stomach would feel funny. It was inside a fake volcano and was quite fun.
We went on another one, called Tower of Terror. We didn't know what to expect a first. I thought we would just ride in something and get scared nearly to death. But when we entered, hey strapped us up very securely and we knew that something was amiss. We went up, up, up... hen plunged all the way down. Then repeated the whole process a few times. I think everyone around us looked quite constipated while plunging down.
Jean forced me to go for a 360 degree turn ride with her. My parents told us to go first and then tell them if it was safe for them. I think we're their professional roller coaster guinea pigs. I protested all the way until we got into the car. Jean was practically laughing all the way. It was our first time going for such a ride. So we got on, I kept protesting bu it was too late, had to surrender. In the end, I survived the ride. It wasn't that bad and I barely felt myself going upside down. We reported our good news back to our base camp and dad decided to try out the ride. Jean and I went with him because we liked it so much. Mom was too scared and decided to stay out.
We completed all the main attractions by the afternoon and just walked around the place. We finally left DisneySEA at around 4.45pm. By then, the sky looked like Singapore's 7pm sky. Oh ya, we went for some boring rides after completing the main ones, We went to some mermaid roller coaster for kids and mom was screaming along with the other little children. The res of us were laughing throughout. Then a cup cake holder thing that kept spinning around, and we went up and down in some squid thing.
The Disney resort is a nice place and he helpers are quite friendly too. I wonder how they manage to remain extremely cheerful for so long. The attractions are nice but not very thrilling, because I think it's not meant to be an amusement park. I was quite fascinated with how they manage the sound systems inside. I think they just loop the music in the various scones but it is quite good. One day, I want to go to the Orlando Disney Resort again and try out the rides I wasn't tall enough for.
We took a train back and ate dinner around our area. jean got a headache and my dad says it is probably because of all the roller coasters, especially the 360 degree one. But Jean just keeps insisting it isn't. Ah well, if it wasn't for her, I wouldn't have had such a great experience on that thing.
Tokyo - Day 5 - Hakone-Tokyo
This was meant to be posted but there was no free internet connection.
From where I left off from my last post, we went out to look for dinner after mom and dad came back from their open air bath. We walked around the small town our hotel was in but all the shops were closed, so no dinner was sold. We went back to the hotel to look at the restaurants inside but their prices were astronomical. For example, S$75 for a buffet. In the end, we went back to our room and improvised a simple but good dinner with the things we happened to bring along. Problem solving skills came in handy when we realised we had no uensils or microwave. Well, this sort of family experience once in a while is not bad.
The next morning, we set off from Hakone to go ack to Tokyo. It was cold in Hakone (5-6 degrees celsius + autumn wear). We took a shuttle bus servic to Togendai (cable car sation) and ate breakfast at a restaurant there (the jingle bell one). After that, we took the cable car to the 1044m point and climbed our way to the sulfur egg thing. We ate the sulfur egg again for part II of breakfast because it was nice. The sky was very nice and clear early thi morning so we could see Mt Fuji very clearly. Back to temperature, it was so cold my cheeks were dry and my ears felt like letting go of my head.
Next, we took a train diagonally downwards a few hundred meters. We arrived at Gora and took a walk around there. We bought some ice cream and took a walk around the park. I was only half done by the time we finished the walk and the thing hardly melted. My hand was nearly frozen ino the shape of the cone when I was finally done. They were so numb I couldn't feel the cold anymore.
Then, we took a mountain slow rain to the main train station to go back to Tokyo. Most of the people in Hakone were old folks (aged people), and a few tourists. At this point, I find it necessary to emphasize that I was in the category - tourists.
At bout 4pm, Tokyo time, Japanese students started entering the train. I'm very amazed with the uniform, especially the girls. The older ones have extremely short skirts and almost knee length socks, and a coat. The crucial question is, how do they manage to survive the cold? And the more senior girls'hairstyles are quite artistic. I think if Singapores' discipline masters/mistresses see this, they would probably give a double dosage of the haircut service.
We arrived at Shinjuku, picked up our luggage and took a train to Akasaka-Mitsuke where our current hotel, Gand Prince Hotel, is. I think there's a girls' school nearby. We was a lot of girls in he station. There was this group of senior girls near us. When some juniors walked past, they would repeaedly bow to them and chant something as they walked past. Interesting custom.
After checking in, we took a train to Takashimaya. It was quite big and is probably the Taka headquarter. Bought back dinner ecause we wanted to try the vrious types of ready-made food. Then we ate dinner in my parents' room, followed by some fruit murdered by dad's swiss knife. Oh, one of the pears tasted of rum. I hope I don't get a hangover tomorrow. There was also this weird tasting fruit that wasted a lot of my effort trying to accept it's weird taste.
Compared to Hakone, Tokyo (10+ degrees celsius) is really hot. I was persiring slightly when we arrived and he weather seemed just nice, like a giant, outdoor air conditioned shopping centre.
Ienary for tomorrow:
- Wake up early to go to Disney Resort.
From where I left off from my last post, we went out to look for dinner after mom and dad came back from their open air bath. We walked around the small town our hotel was in but all the shops were closed, so no dinner was sold. We went back to the hotel to look at the restaurants inside but their prices were astronomical. For example, S$75 for a buffet. In the end, we went back to our room and improvised a simple but good dinner with the things we happened to bring along. Problem solving skills came in handy when we realised we had no uensils or microwave. Well, this sort of family experience once in a while is not bad.
The next morning, we set off from Hakone to go ack to Tokyo. It was cold in Hakone (5-6 degrees celsius + autumn wear). We took a shuttle bus servic to Togendai (cable car sation) and ate breakfast at a restaurant there (the jingle bell one). After that, we took the cable car to the 1044m point and climbed our way to the sulfur egg thing. We ate the sulfur egg again for part II of breakfast because it was nice. The sky was very nice and clear early thi morning so we could see Mt Fuji very clearly. Back to temperature, it was so cold my cheeks were dry and my ears felt like letting go of my head.
Next, we took a train diagonally downwards a few hundred meters. We arrived at Gora and took a walk around there. We bought some ice cream and took a walk around the park. I was only half done by the time we finished the walk and the thing hardly melted. My hand was nearly frozen ino the shape of the cone when I was finally done. They were so numb I couldn't feel the cold anymore.
Then, we took a mountain slow rain to the main train station to go back to Tokyo. Most of the people in Hakone were old folks (aged people), and a few tourists. At this point, I find it necessary to emphasize that I was in the category - tourists.
At bout 4pm, Tokyo time, Japanese students started entering the train. I'm very amazed with the uniform, especially the girls. The older ones have extremely short skirts and almost knee length socks, and a coat. The crucial question is, how do they manage to survive the cold? And the more senior girls'hairstyles are quite artistic. I think if Singapores' discipline masters/mistresses see this, they would probably give a double dosage of the haircut service.
We arrived at Shinjuku, picked up our luggage and took a train to Akasaka-Mitsuke where our current hotel, Gand Prince Hotel, is. I think there's a girls' school nearby. We was a lot of girls in he station. There was this group of senior girls near us. When some juniors walked past, they would repeaedly bow to them and chant something as they walked past. Interesting custom.
After checking in, we took a train to Takashimaya. It was quite big and is probably the Taka headquarter. Bought back dinner ecause we wanted to try the vrious types of ready-made food. Then we ate dinner in my parents' room, followed by some fruit murdered by dad's swiss knife. Oh, one of the pears tasted of rum. I hope I don't get a hangover tomorrow. There was also this weird tasting fruit that wasted a lot of my effort trying to accept it's weird taste.
Compared to Hakone, Tokyo (10+ degrees celsius) is really hot. I was persiring slightly when we arrived and he weather seemed just nice, like a giant, outdoor air conditioned shopping centre.
Ienary for tomorrow:
- Wake up early to go to Disney Resort.
Monday, November 10, 2008
Tokyo - Day 4 - Hakone
Today, we woke up at 6am. We were supposed to wake up half an hour earlier but failed to. Jean pick up the phone, mumbled something and went back to sleep without telling me. We ate a quick breakfast and checked out. We packed 1 night's clothes into 2 smaller luggage and deposited the rest in the hotel. Then, we walked to Shinjuku station to board a train to Hakone. It was a 1 hour 50 minute ride and I slept most of the time.
After we reached, we changed to another train that would continue to take us to Hakone.It was smaller and went quite slowly through the winding and inclined track. he, we transferred to a rail that went diagonally upwards, straight up the mountain. We then arrived at Gora, which is 761m above sea level. We reached a cable car station. We took a cable car to Owakudani, 1044m above sea level. It was quite cold there, about 5 degrees celsius. There were geysers on the top and we went to walk around there. It smelled of rotten eggs because of the sulfur. But the smelliest geysers, to me, are the ones in Yellowstone Park (somewhere near the Gran Canyon). Near one of the geysers, there was a stall selling eggs that had been cooked in the geyser. We bought 1 packet (5 eggs) and ate them. They had black shells and looked horribly burn at first. But, never judge an egg by it's shell. The inside was good and it helped to warm our hands. Oh, it was really cold because we were dressed in clothes more suitable for 10+ degrees. But the temperature in Hanoke is almost always below 10, so pockets have become the hand's permanent residence.
After that, we went down by cable car. This time, the clouds had cleared and visibility was much better. The leaves were very colourful from on top. Then, we ate lunch. It's very high-tech. First, you go order the food at the counter. Then, go back to sit. When your food is ready, the electronic thing you are given beeps. No, not beep, it's the first bar of "Jingle Bells" theme over and over again. After eating, we out back the plates and trays etc. Highly unusual since the typical Singaporean is only required to on school grounds. Then, there's a cloth on the table so you can clean it yourself. Japanese are so responsible. Oh ya, there are hardly any trash bins around, but the ground is always very clean. Singapore has trash bins all over, and it's clean, just that we need a lot of cleaners. And the rare trash bins in Japan are usually quite tiny and specialised in a certain material (paper, plastic, cans, jie ying...).
Then, we took a cruise to a part of Hakone. Hakone is actually what's left of a volcano that blew it's top many years ago. There's a lake in the centre (Lake Ashi) and the surrounding "mountains" are the crater stuff. Before we boarded the cruise, there was this sign which read "Attention: I can not use one equal to or less than 8 years old or younger or 25kg". It was very cold and windy on the boat. Dad, Jean and I purposely went to the top deck to look out for Mt. Fuji. We managed to catch a bit of it. Then we went into this shop and I nearly died of laughing. On some of the display things:
1. I stewed the body and the egg of the fish.
I stewed the egg of the fish of a feeling of appetite which split open and the body of a soft tuna together. I am most suitable for an attendant of the rice.
Poor fish...
2. A Tuna and Cheese
I stewed wat tuna and cheese to chunks. Body of the cheese matches the taste of the tuna well.
3. Cheese and Bonito
I skewed the Bonito which did smoking with soy sauce. It is the delicious Bonito which it put melted cheese on.
4. The Egg of the Shihamo Smelt
It is an egg and the cheese of the Shihamo smelt of a feeling of appetite splitting open. The sharp taste that I worked for a little is characteristic.
Then we took a short cruise ride to our hotel (The Prince Hakone). We checked in. This time, we are stying in a family suite. We took a walk outside and there's a very good view of Mount Fuji. Right now, I'm typing this and my parents are out at a hot spring bath downstairs. I decided I didn't want to go because it's just off my Conservative limits.
Tomorrow:
Go back to main city, walk around and explore.
After we reached, we changed to another train that would continue to take us to Hakone.It was smaller and went quite slowly through the winding and inclined track. he, we transferred to a rail that went diagonally upwards, straight up the mountain. We then arrived at Gora, which is 761m above sea level. We reached a cable car station. We took a cable car to Owakudani, 1044m above sea level. It was quite cold there, about 5 degrees celsius. There were geysers on the top and we went to walk around there. It smelled of rotten eggs because of the sulfur. But the smelliest geysers, to me, are the ones in Yellowstone Park (somewhere near the Gran Canyon). Near one of the geysers, there was a stall selling eggs that had been cooked in the geyser. We bought 1 packet (5 eggs) and ate them. They had black shells and looked horribly burn at first. But, never judge an egg by it's shell. The inside was good and it helped to warm our hands. Oh, it was really cold because we were dressed in clothes more suitable for 10+ degrees. But the temperature in Hanoke is almost always below 10, so pockets have become the hand's permanent residence.
After that, we went down by cable car. This time, the clouds had cleared and visibility was much better. The leaves were very colourful from on top. Then, we ate lunch. It's very high-tech. First, you go order the food at the counter. Then, go back to sit. When your food is ready, the electronic thing you are given beeps. No, not beep, it's the first bar of "Jingle Bells" theme over and over again. After eating, we out back the plates and trays etc. Highly unusual since the typical Singaporean is only required to on school grounds. Then, there's a cloth on the table so you can clean it yourself. Japanese are so responsible. Oh ya, there are hardly any trash bins around, but the ground is always very clean. Singapore has trash bins all over, and it's clean, just that we need a lot of cleaners. And the rare trash bins in Japan are usually quite tiny and specialised in a certain material (paper, plastic, cans, jie ying...).
Then, we took a cruise to a part of Hakone. Hakone is actually what's left of a volcano that blew it's top many years ago. There's a lake in the centre (Lake Ashi) and the surrounding "mountains" are the crater stuff. Before we boarded the cruise, there was this sign which read "Attention: I can not use one equal to or less than 8 years old or younger or 25kg". It was very cold and windy on the boat. Dad, Jean and I purposely went to the top deck to look out for Mt. Fuji. We managed to catch a bit of it. Then we went into this shop and I nearly died of laughing. On some of the display things:
1. I stewed the body and the egg of the fish.
I stewed the egg of the fish of a feeling of appetite which split open and the body of a soft tuna together. I am most suitable for an attendant of the rice.
Poor fish...
2. A Tuna and Cheese
I stewed wat tuna and cheese to chunks. Body of the cheese matches the taste of the tuna well.
3. Cheese and Bonito
I skewed the Bonito which did smoking with soy sauce. It is the delicious Bonito which it put melted cheese on.
4. The Egg of the Shihamo Smelt
It is an egg and the cheese of the Shihamo smelt of a feeling of appetite splitting open. The sharp taste that I worked for a little is characteristic.
Then we took a short cruise ride to our hotel (The Prince Hakone). We checked in. This time, we are stying in a family suite. We took a walk outside and there's a very good view of Mount Fuji. Right now, I'm typing this and my parents are out at a hot spring bath downstairs. I decided I didn't want to go because it's just off my Conservative limits.
Tomorrow:
Go back to main city, walk around and explore.
Sunday, November 09, 2008
Tokyo - Day 3
Today, the temperature was 9-13 degrees celsius. Bearable but not very comfortble. The Japanese don't wear gloves and my fingers are always freezing. Towards the end of the day, my hand is grdually stuck permanantly in my pocket. It rained lightly and I felt very happy because had an umbrella imported all the way from singapore with me. Well, it is actually quite a hard decision - whether or not to use the umbrella. If it is used, then the hand can't be in the pocket. But if it isn't used, we get wet and it makes us feel even colder. I think I was unofficially awarded the title of being the best dressed for the occasion. At least I wore a waterproof jacket.
Jean and I got a wake up call from our parents in the morning. Poor Jean.. She decided to sleep on the side of the bed with the phone. Then, went over to their room to eat breakfast. We went out and spent 45 minutes trying to find our way to the correct platform in the big underground train network. It is so complicated as there are 9 companies, and you have to buy different tickets for different lines. We finally found it after asking around, walking in and out. We went to the Yasukuni shrine. That's the shrine that the Jap PM visits every year and causes a lot of protest. Then, we went to Kitanmaru Park. By then, we were quite tired from the walking. I was wearing track shoes which made my feet cold whenever wind blowed. In addition, my socks were thin. It was then an there that Jean admitted she accidentally packed 1 pair of socks which was unevenly matched - 1 thick and the other side thin. So in total, she had three thick socks and 3 thin socks. She was working out her own schedule on how to evenly spread out the use of the socks over the next few days. When we walked out, there was this washing basin. Supposed to be for cleansing before you go in. Then my mom thought it was like a hospital and thought it was nice idea to have a washing point there before leaving the place. Ha.. sigh
Then, we went to Harajuku. It is described by Formers Japan (travel guide), "If you're over 25, you're apt to feel ancient there, since this is tokyo's most popular and trendy place for Japanese high school and college students." Ahaha.. I wonder how my parents felt. The Japanese there really have an interesting sense of fashion. For the past 2 days, I thoght that what I had been seeing was already unusual eough. But when I saw the people walking around Harajuku, they definitely win the title of being the most unconventional. They have unique ways of expresing thmeselcves, dressing all in black and with weird punk styles. There were also some oddly dressed people holding signs "free hugs". I don't think anyone dared to go to them..
Then, we walked past a stadium. There was going to be a band's debut concert going on. I think the band's name is "A B C-Z kis my ft2". I have no idea what could have inspired them except the alphabet. There were a lot of people. The whole street in the Harajuku was practically jammed with people. Shui ie bu tong and ren shan ren hai. There were many funky people waiting outside the indoor stadium (oh ya, the 1964 olymics was held there) and most of them were girls.
Then, we walked to the Meiji Shrine. It was my second time there and I don't think it has changed much since 6 years ago. At this time of the year, Japanese kids aged 3, 5 nd 7 come with their famalies to recieve blessings. Sx years ago, I think we went to this shrine on 15 Nov, Jean's 8th birthday. Not for any particular purpose except sight seeing, but we found the event rather interesting. Then around 5pm, they began closing the place. Since the shrine was a one way type of road, we walked through the track and was already nearly finishing it. Then, suddenly, the intercom said, "Every entrnce has just been closed. Please hurry back now." In that case, wouldn't we be locked in till tomorrow? Inthe end, like everyone else who listened to the english version, we ignored it and got out safely.
Then, walked somemore and went back to Shinjuku and ate dinner there. It quite cold. Oh and there's this big Daikin advertisment board on top of a building tht gives the temperature. How suitable since it's an air conditioner brand.
Took a shower, went to my parents room again and used dad's laptop. We ate fruit which dad cut up using his swiss knife. Then, family prayer.
Going to sleep now. Have t wake up by 5am tomorrow tokyo time. We'll be checking out of the hotel and then taking the train to Hanoke to look at Mt Fuji. Unsure about internet connection there. That's all now, good night.
Jean and I got a wake up call from our parents in the morning. Poor Jean.. She decided to sleep on the side of the bed with the phone. Then, went over to their room to eat breakfast. We went out and spent 45 minutes trying to find our way to the correct platform in the big underground train network. It is so complicated as there are 9 companies, and you have to buy different tickets for different lines. We finally found it after asking around, walking in and out. We went to the Yasukuni shrine. That's the shrine that the Jap PM visits every year and causes a lot of protest. Then, we went to Kitanmaru Park. By then, we were quite tired from the walking. I was wearing track shoes which made my feet cold whenever wind blowed. In addition, my socks were thin. It was then an there that Jean admitted she accidentally packed 1 pair of socks which was unevenly matched - 1 thick and the other side thin. So in total, she had three thick socks and 3 thin socks. She was working out her own schedule on how to evenly spread out the use of the socks over the next few days. When we walked out, there was this washing basin. Supposed to be for cleansing before you go in. Then my mom thought it was like a hospital and thought it was nice idea to have a washing point there before leaving the place. Ha.. sigh
Then, we went to Harajuku. It is described by Formers Japan (travel guide), "If you're over 25, you're apt to feel ancient there, since this is tokyo's most popular and trendy place for Japanese high school and college students." Ahaha.. I wonder how my parents felt. The Japanese there really have an interesting sense of fashion. For the past 2 days, I thoght that what I had been seeing was already unusual eough. But when I saw the people walking around Harajuku, they definitely win the title of being the most unconventional. They have unique ways of expresing thmeselcves, dressing all in black and with weird punk styles. There were also some oddly dressed people holding signs "free hugs". I don't think anyone dared to go to them..
Then, we walked past a stadium. There was going to be a band's debut concert going on. I think the band's name is "A B C-Z kis my ft2". I have no idea what could have inspired them except the alphabet. There were a lot of people. The whole street in the Harajuku was practically jammed with people. Shui ie bu tong and ren shan ren hai. There were many funky people waiting outside the indoor stadium (oh ya, the 1964 olymics was held there) and most of them were girls.
Then, we walked to the Meiji Shrine. It was my second time there and I don't think it has changed much since 6 years ago. At this time of the year, Japanese kids aged 3, 5 nd 7 come with their famalies to recieve blessings. Sx years ago, I think we went to this shrine on 15 Nov, Jean's 8th birthday. Not for any particular purpose except sight seeing, but we found the event rather interesting. Then around 5pm, they began closing the place. Since the shrine was a one way type of road, we walked through the track and was already nearly finishing it. Then, suddenly, the intercom said, "Every entrnce has just been closed. Please hurry back now." In that case, wouldn't we be locked in till tomorrow? Inthe end, like everyone else who listened to the english version, we ignored it and got out safely.
Then, walked somemore and went back to Shinjuku and ate dinner there. It quite cold. Oh and there's this big Daikin advertisment board on top of a building tht gives the temperature. How suitable since it's an air conditioner brand.
Took a shower, went to my parents room again and used dad's laptop. We ate fruit which dad cut up using his swiss knife. Then, family prayer.
Going to sleep now. Have t wake up by 5am tomorrow tokyo time. We'll be checking out of the hotel and then taking the train to Hanoke to look at Mt Fuji. Unsure about internet connection there. That's all now, good night.
Saturday, November 08, 2008
Tokyo - Day 2
Today, I woke up at 8.30 Tokyo time. Thankfully, we didn't go to the seafood market at 3am to catch the market action. We took a train to the seafood market. We went there the last time but went again to eat there. We went to this shop that sold sushi with those raw seafood things on top. I tried to ignore the dead toppings and decided to try 2 of what I thought were the most harmless sushis. The first was this one with raw fish egg. I t tasted so different from the ones in Singapore. It tasted so fishy and smelt fishy as well. There was this slimy taste that lingered in my mouth and I couldn't bear to swallow it. But I eventually did. I thought that was the fish egg's fault and decided to try raw prawn next. I thought it would taste close to the normal version but it had this gooey effect, and not to mention, there was wasabe hidden in it. So I had a hard time chewing it into swallowable portions while trying to survive without having to activate a fire truck.
After roaming around for a while more, we took a train to Ginza. It's like the orchard road of Singapore. Mom just reminded me she bought some stockings there and commented on my poor memory. While she was busy shopping, dad, jean and I sat at a corner and waited. Then, jean and I initiated a game of UNO with dad. I won and Jean and dad never got to finish because they took a very very long time. Well, at least dad learnt something new today.
Then, we walked to the Imperial Palace. We could only stay at the outside. It's only open to visitor a few days a year. After that, we walked to a train station and went to Asakusa (I can never remember this name. I tried to memorise the spelling but got it wrong when I decided to double check with mom) This place is also a shopping district. We walked and walked and walked. Now, what did we do? (Now - I asked my mom for inspiration and she must be thinking her poor daughter is catching up with her age) Ah, now, we walked around the small shops and tried different types of food. We also bought some stuff. It was also realised that we tend to attract crowds to wherever we are. 4 people stopping at a particular spot is enough to attract about 5 more. Dad was saying the shops should have given us commission. Haven't tried the pointing at something prank yet. By theory, passers by /should/ have the urge to look up.
Then, we ate dinner and went to a grocery store. We bought some food to bring back for breakfast tomorrow, as well as fruit. Then, we saw some relatively cheap ice cream and decided to buy some. At first, we wanted the mini-tub type, but then we realised we didn't have any spoons, and the store didn't sell any. So, Jean and I decided on a wafer one instead while mom and dad took a green tea cup of ice ream. Dad said he bought the ice cream before and so he was quite sure there would be a spoon inside to facilitate eating. So, e went out and started our dessert. While we were opening up our packages, suddenly, there was a state of panic. Dad discovered that there was no spoon inside. The ice cream was going to melt, but maybe not as fast since the temperature was about 12 degrees. We all decided it was a major problem and started looking for a 100yen shop (S$1.50). Well, in the end, we managed to find one. Dad went in to search while the rest of us kept the ice creams company. I was thinking my parents would probably have to end up using some funny plastic structure to eat. Thankfully, dad found a packet of forks. Ah well, it's not a traditional way of eating it but anyway, good enough since most of the ice cream was not Green tea soup yet.
After that, we lugged the stuff home. After carrying my bag to walk around, 10 hours, 1 carton of orange juice and 2 packets of milk, my shoulders couldn't move up. It feel so stiff now..
Then, took a shower, and went over to my parents' room to use the laptop (yes, under parental supervivion). It'ss 12.30am (tokyo time) now. So good morning tokyo, good night singapore.
tomorrow's itenary:
not confirmed yet. dad is still reading the map.. but night activity is confirmed - computer time.
After roaming around for a while more, we took a train to Ginza. It's like the orchard road of Singapore. Mom just reminded me she bought some stockings there and commented on my poor memory. While she was busy shopping, dad, jean and I sat at a corner and waited. Then, jean and I initiated a game of UNO with dad. I won and Jean and dad never got to finish because they took a very very long time. Well, at least dad learnt something new today.
Then, we walked to the Imperial Palace. We could only stay at the outside. It's only open to visitor a few days a year. After that, we walked to a train station and went to Asakusa (I can never remember this name. I tried to memorise the spelling but got it wrong when I decided to double check with mom) This place is also a shopping district. We walked and walked and walked. Now, what did we do? (Now - I asked my mom for inspiration and she must be thinking her poor daughter is catching up with her age) Ah, now, we walked around the small shops and tried different types of food. We also bought some stuff. It was also realised that we tend to attract crowds to wherever we are. 4 people stopping at a particular spot is enough to attract about 5 more. Dad was saying the shops should have given us commission. Haven't tried the pointing at something prank yet. By theory, passers by /should/ have the urge to look up.
Then, we ate dinner and went to a grocery store. We bought some food to bring back for breakfast tomorrow, as well as fruit. Then, we saw some relatively cheap ice cream and decided to buy some. At first, we wanted the mini-tub type, but then we realised we didn't have any spoons, and the store didn't sell any. So, Jean and I decided on a wafer one instead while mom and dad took a green tea cup of ice ream. Dad said he bought the ice cream before and so he was quite sure there would be a spoon inside to facilitate eating. So, e went out and started our dessert. While we were opening up our packages, suddenly, there was a state of panic. Dad discovered that there was no spoon inside. The ice cream was going to melt, but maybe not as fast since the temperature was about 12 degrees. We all decided it was a major problem and started looking for a 100yen shop (S$1.50). Well, in the end, we managed to find one. Dad went in to search while the rest of us kept the ice creams company. I was thinking my parents would probably have to end up using some funny plastic structure to eat. Thankfully, dad found a packet of forks. Ah well, it's not a traditional way of eating it but anyway, good enough since most of the ice cream was not Green tea soup yet.
After that, we lugged the stuff home. After carrying my bag to walk around, 10 hours, 1 carton of orange juice and 2 packets of milk, my shoulders couldn't move up. It feel so stiff now..
Then, took a shower, and went over to my parents' room to use the laptop (yes, under parental supervivion). It'ss 12.30am (tokyo time) now. So good morning tokyo, good night singapore.
tomorrow's itenary:
not confirmed yet. dad is still reading the map.. but night activity is confirmed - computer time.
Friday, November 07, 2008
Tokyo - Day 1
Today (7 Nov in Singapore, it's early 8 nov in tokyo now), I woke up at 4.50am. I didn't really know what time the flight to tokyo was but I just got a shock. We left the house and reached the airport T3 at about 6am. We took off at 7.30am and reached tokyo at about 2pm. All the times I'm going to use, unless otherwise stated will be Singapore time. Tokyo time is 1 hour ahead of Sg.
When we arrived, we took an "airport limousine" to our hotel in Shinjuku. I think it's a shopping and business district like Singapore's CBD area. The English they try to use here is really funny. When we were on the way to the hotel, the person in charge of the bus intercom said something like, "For those who are alighting, please ensure that you leave your luggage behind before alghiting." Jean and I had trouble laughing silently. I think the Japanese around us must have thought we were a few odd foreigners.
Oh ya, we didn't eat lunch, just breakfast on the plane, then dinner at around 6 (tokyo time). The sun here sets at 5 (tokyo time). The streets at the shopping district hve only one lane - for pedestrians. There's even a road shoulder for slower (ageing) walkers like me. The people there are dressed very very formally. The men are almost all in a black suit, white collar shirt and tie. The women are also almost all black with tockings an skirts. When you look at a group of eople, they look like MIB (men in black). There are, of course, a few exceptions like the 4 of my family. The people walk so fast you can easily be collided into. It's like driving a car. I think I need a rear mirror. Once I slow down or stop, I happen to block a whole troop of people behind me.
The temperature today was 20 degrees celsius in the day ad about 17-18 degrees celsius in the night. At night, it was colder with wind chill. I think the weather is going to get colder these few days. Rght now, tokyo seems like a gigantic shopping centre with air conditioning.
Now is about 1.15am tokyo time. Using my dad's laptop to type as there's free internet connection but no free com. The keyboard is super tiny and my fingers keep hitting the wrong keys. Can't aim properly when y eye's are going to close after about 20 hours nonstop. Please excuse any typos..
Rought Itenary (6 nights, 7 days):
First 3 nights: Shopping district
Next 1 night: Visit an rea near Mount Fuji where we'll look at mont fuji but not climb it.
Next 2 nights: Go back to city area, disneyland on last day.
I think I'll only be able to have internet connection for 1st three nights. Next few not so sure as we'll be swtching hotels according to location. Mom is thinking of visiting the fish market at 3am.. that's like a sort nap from now. I hope not..
When we arrived, we took an "airport limousine" to our hotel in Shinjuku. I think it's a shopping and business district like Singapore's CBD area. The English they try to use here is really funny. When we were on the way to the hotel, the person in charge of the bus intercom said something like, "For those who are alighting, please ensure that you leave your luggage behind before alghiting." Jean and I had trouble laughing silently. I think the Japanese around us must have thought we were a few odd foreigners.
Oh ya, we didn't eat lunch, just breakfast on the plane, then dinner at around 6 (tokyo time). The sun here sets at 5 (tokyo time). The streets at the shopping district hve only one lane - for pedestrians. There's even a road shoulder for slower (ageing) walkers like me. The people there are dressed very very formally. The men are almost all in a black suit, white collar shirt and tie. The women are also almost all black with tockings an skirts. When you look at a group of eople, they look like MIB (men in black). There are, of course, a few exceptions like the 4 of my family. The people walk so fast you can easily be collided into. It's like driving a car. I think I need a rear mirror. Once I slow down or stop, I happen to block a whole troop of people behind me.
The temperature today was 20 degrees celsius in the day ad about 17-18 degrees celsius in the night. At night, it was colder with wind chill. I think the weather is going to get colder these few days. Rght now, tokyo seems like a gigantic shopping centre with air conditioning.
Now is about 1.15am tokyo time. Using my dad's laptop to type as there's free internet connection but no free com. The keyboard is super tiny and my fingers keep hitting the wrong keys. Can't aim properly when y eye's are going to close after about 20 hours nonstop. Please excuse any typos..
Rought Itenary (6 nights, 7 days):
First 3 nights: Shopping district
Next 1 night: Visit an rea near Mount Fuji where we'll look at mont fuji but not climb it.
Next 2 nights: Go back to city area, disneyland on last day.
I think I'll only be able to have internet connection for 1st three nights. Next few not so sure as we'll be swtching hotels according to location. Mom is thinking of visiting the fish market at 3am.. that's like a sort nap from now. I hope not..
Thursday, November 06, 2008
Another Blah
Yay, it's finally the end of headstart and the start of holidays. There were about 9 tests this week, 8 if it's people like me or jie ying who fortunately, take music instead. I took the Accident Math test this afternoon with Zeng Xi and it was... (I'm not supposed to leak out anything). Okay, it was - ok (for those who know what my "ok"s mean). For those who don't know, it wasn't scary.
There was violin lesson yesterday and my teacher let me try one of her violins. Oh, I wanted to get a new violin so she offered to let me try one of hers to see if I wanted it. The sound was brighter than my current one. It feels airy. Can shift and slide fingers very easily. But then it's not new. I know old good violins are good but I want to train my violin on my own. Ah, I'll see other violins before making a decision.
I will be away from tomorrow to next Thursday in Tokyo. Second time in my life going there. The first was around this time of the ear, we tagged along with our father who was going there for one of his business trips. We went there a few days longer to explore together. The rest of the time, he was having meetings while my mom, Jean and I went exploring on our own. I don't think I will be able to go online unlike the Vietnam trip in June. Though there's free Internet connection, I don't think my dad will let me use his laptop without any valid reason. So shall post when I am back and have recuperated.
There's a lot of holiday homework as usual and I think I will be passing time on the plane completing some before it's too late. Hopefully it doesn't turn out like in June when I left my work on the plane and lost it.
Going off now for dinner and then to start packing my things. It's a Chan tradition to not start packing until about 12 hours before we need to leave the house. At least I don't have to worry for that long about whether I forgot to bring anything.
Sunday, November 02, 2008
Another Blah
The past week was tiring. Apart from normal lessons, there was sectionals on Thursday and then tutti on Friday, and there will be sectionals again on Monday. Next week is even worse. There will be a mini EOY because every subject (except music) wants a test/assignment at the end of headstart.Ok, enough on tiring things.
Yesterday, the afternoon was spent in Chinatown because my parents wanted to remake the cushion covers on the living room chairs. The furniture there was bought by my grandparents as my parents' wedding gift I think. It's this cheena-looking set with wooden carvings on the back and blah blah blah. It's been under my parents' care for about 16.5 years. There is no way we can ever change it or even get rid of it because I don't know what will happen. It's still checked on every few weeks. Not that I'm planning anything but I think my house just looks like some museum.
Shopped around for more long pants for colder weather in a week. Yes, I don't usually wear long pants (jie ying would definitely know) so those/the one I have is not long enough by my standards. Yesterday was very relaxing because I only had to be in church by 7.30pm.
Today, church again in the morning as usual. We watched a movie (another episode of what was screened last night). It was about missionaries in China and how they fought hard and sacrificed their lives. I got a neck ache from trying to see the subtitles on the bottom of the screen (thought it was still in Chinese) because the mainland Chinese accent is still very hard to catch. But overall, a good and meaningful production.
The coffee shop and hawker centre opposite church are closed for renovation. This makes eating lunch hard, especially when you have to stay back in church in the afternoon. Today, had to stay back for the choir practice. They are combining with chimes (or the other way round) for Christmas. Not bad, at least there'll be some young voices. I predict a busy Christmas. Have this, chimes, need to play violin for some other item then for worship band as well. It is a rare occasion to actually be the one sitting back and watching the Christmas program. Kids are usually involved since their kindergarten days in the Sunday School, all the way till dunno when. Well, it doesn't become a burden if you know who you're doing it for.
Then, went Jean and I went to our grandparents' house because mom was having a long meeting in church. Dad decided to go home so he could fetch her later. Played with Jensen but Jerome was sleeping most of the time. Then, helped design a flyer for our grandfather's senior citizen fellowship special event. Then, drove down to Lau Pa Sat where we met our parents for dinner.
That's all for now. Going to read a bit of a book then sleep.
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